Our baby, K, was transferred to Children's Hospital when he was two days old. We were told that he was very sick and may die. Within a couple of hours, he was placed on ECMO and this was the most devastating day of our lives. Courtney was our baby's nurse for much of his time on ECMO. We grew to love her as she cared for not only our baby but us also. Visitation was limited so much of the time I had to sit alone in the recliner. Courtney would talk with me as she cared for K and this made me feel very confident in the care that he received.

The day he had surgery to remove him from ECMO I felt such peace because Courtney was there. I was worried about who his nurses would be since he was being moved to a new room. She assured me that he was remaining in the same unit with the same loving caregivers. When he was weaned from sedation he began to have withdrawals. She recognized these signs right away and offered to remove him from the isolette and let me hold him skin to skin. Even though it was a lot of work for her to do that, it was exactly what he needed.

One day as we were preparing for discharge, Courtney took K out to the garden. This was his very trip outside of the hospital. It was a beautiful sunny day and this created a special memory for us. Courtney also started his beads of courage. She made sure to complete them before he went home. She was the sunshine we needed for those 30 days and we will never forget the impact she had on our lives.